Ann Hobson Pilot

Ann Hobson Pilot was the principal harpist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops through her retirement from the BSO in 2009. Pilot taught College and Preparatory students at New England Conservatory from 1973 through her retirement in 2013.

Prior to joining the BSO in 1969, she was the second harpist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the principal harpist of the National Symphony. In addition to solo appearances with the BSO and Boston Pops, she has been a soloist with many American orchestras as well as with orchestras in Europe, Haiti, New Zealand, and South Africa.

In 1998 and 1999, Pilot was featured in a video documentary sponsored by the Museum of Afro-American History and WGBH, aired nationwide on PBS, about her personal musical journey as well as her African journey to find the roots of the harp. In September 1999, she traveled to London to record, with the London Symphony Orchestra, The Harp Concerto by the young American composer Kevin Kaska, a work that she commissioned.

She is a former member of the contemporary music ensemble Collage and has also performed with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, the Marlboro Music Festival, the Newport Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival, among others. She is a member of the Ritz Chamber Players, and has performed extensively with them in concerts around the country.